Mr Smith gave his wife ten pounds for her birthday-ten pretty pound notes. So the day after her birthday, Mrs Smith went shopping. She queued for a bus, got on and sat down next to an old lady. After a while, she noticed that the old lady's handbag was open. Inside it, she saw a wad of pound notes exactly like the one her husband had given her. So she quickly looked into her own bag- the notes had gone!

Mrs Smith was sure that the old lady who was sitting next to her had stolen them. She thought she would have to call the police; but, as she disliked making a fuss and getting people into trouble, she decided to take back the money from the old lady's handbag and say nothing more about it. She looked round the bus to make sure nobody was watching, then she carefully put her hand into the old lady's bag , took the notes and put them in her own bag. When she got home that evening, she showed her husband the beautiful hat she had bought. ´How did you pay for it?' he asked. ´With the money you gave me for my birthday, of course,' she replied. ´Oh? What's that, then?' he asked, as he pointed to a wad of ten pound notes on the table.

Text B

'Goodbye, darling,' said Mr Mackin. 'I'll be late tonight.' Poor George, she thought. He was always in a hurry in the morning, and it wasn't unusual for him to come home late at night. He worked for a shoe company in Lceds. and therc was such a lot of work that he normally staycd in the office till seven or cight.

When George had left the house Mrs Mackin sat down. in an armchair and turned on the radio. It was a few minutes past eight , and she heard the last words of the news :'...wman who escaped from I.ceds prison yesterday is still free. The police warn you not to open your door to strangers. '

She turned off the radio. The housework was waiting for her. Shc made the beds and washed the dishes. There wasn't auy shopping to do. and so she thought for a moment of all the Work in the garden. The Mackins lived in a house with a large garden in a suburb of Leeds. Behind the garden there were some trees. and then the cpen fields.

Suddenly Mrs Mackin remembered the news. She laughed uneasily. That prison is only 15 miles away, she thought. She didn't work in the garden, she mended her husband 's shirts instead And she care.fully lockcd the front door and closed all the windows.